The damaged manhole at Somasundarapalya. All the accidents took place on Friday. | Photo Credit: th more-in A manhole with a damaged cover located bang in front of a school in Somasundarapalya is fast becoming a hazard for motorists. On Friday morning, in separate instances, four motorists and a senior citizen, who was on a bicycle, fell even as they tried to avoid the damaged manhole. The victims include a woman and her six-year-old daughter on a two-wheeler. Residents say that they have made several complaints about the manhole over the last month, but officials have been slow to respond. "The cover is damaged and sewage has been overflowing for the past one month. Add to that the fact that the manhole is located right in front of a school. It is a disaster waiting to happen,” said Shankar S., a resident of Somasundarapalya. According to Shankar, the woman was taking her daughter to school. They fell when she took a turn to avoid the overflowing manhole. Fortunately, neither she nor her daughter were injured. A BWSSB official said that work on repairing the manhole would begin on Saturday. “An optical fibre cable and gas pipeline were driven inside the sewage line. As a result, the pipe is damaged. We wanted to start work earlier, but traffic police had asked us to take up the work on a weekend when fewer vehicles would be on the road,” said the official.

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